


8 things

by uswnttrash



Category: Women's Soccer RPF
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-16
Updated: 2016-04-04
Packaged: 2018-05-27 01:35:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,372
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6264394
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/uswnttrash/pseuds/uswnttrash
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Inspired by the US Soccer video '8 Things about Christen Press'</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. From friends

**Author's Note:**

> 1\. Practices vedic meditation  
> 2\. Climbed mt. kinabalu in borneo  
> 3\. Known for her on-field self-talk  
> 4\. Her dog is the best  
> 5\. Can’t live without her day planner  
> 6\. Speaks more spanish than swedish in sweden  
> 7\. Hard to please when it comes to movies  
> 8\. Loves to write

_i._

_The way Kelley prepared some of her closest friends on the National team for meeting Christen for the first time was something that always stuck out in Tobin’s mind._

_The gals had been talking nonstop about Christen Press. The Christen Press who was neck and neck with the now converted defender in almost every record in Stanford. Kelley had silenced the whispers by telling everyone that Christen was probably one of the chillest people she had even met besides Tobin of course. She explained how Christen was a bit of an introvert and pretty much the opposite of Kelley in most ways and that they should be gentle with her._

_It was then when Tobin first found out about the concept of vedic meditation. She didn’t think much of it and she didn’t really blame Christen for wanting to do something peaceful like that considering the kind of life she had._

_It was one of the first things Tobin really knew about Christen that wasn’t soccer related._

_When they met finally, Tobin noted how much prettier she was in person (Kelley hyped that up, too, but obviously her words didn’t do Christen justice). She then realized that she was pretty calm and relaxed almost all the time. It was kind of refreshing to have someone who was ever so similar to her on the team now._

_They roomed together early on in Christen’s time on the NT and that’s why Tobin saw firsthand what vedic meditation was. She remembered the moment quite clearly, too._

_Tobin had just arrived back to the room after almost half the day of playing soccer tennis. Given the fact that the chair Christen was sitting in wasn’t visible from the doorway, Tobin assumed she wasn’t there which is why she wasn’t exactly quiet when making her way towards her bed._

_She cringed immediately after seeing Christen there but the younger girl never even budged. That brought a small smile to Tobin’s face as she settled on the bed and pulled out her bible. The smile remained on her face as she picked up reading where she left off._

_She liked to consider that the first time they meditated in their own way together._

_ii._

_During a team breakfast, Tobin was half-listening to the conversation around her because she was too busy trying to figure out what to eat on her plate first._

_Her attention finally shifted though after she heard Christen start to speak up. There was something about the passion and clear happiness in her voice that made Tobin forget all about the food._

_She was talking to Ashlyn and a few other adventurers about the time she had climbed Mt. Kinabalu in Borneo. She spoke about the climb up and how exhilarating it was. Some of the other girls who had climbed some mountains during their travels chimed in and they all collectively agreed that the climb down was always the worst part despite how fit they all were._

_It was no secret to everyone on the team that Tobin had her fair share of adventures which is why some of them were a little taken aback that she didn’t add anything in to the conversation. They just kind of brushed it off as Tobin being Tobin though but the truth was that she was now considering Borneo as a potential future generation. If someone like Christen liked it so much, than it was something she wanted to experience at some point of her life._

_The once forgotten food on her plate became her focus again shortly after when Kelley insisted on teasing Christen about the ‘friend’ that she climbed the mountain with._

_iii._

_It was a surprise really to see how hard Christen was on herself sometimes both on and off the field. During a game once, Christen had a defender on her but was still able to get a shot off. The shot went wide and the next thing Tobin heard was ‘Oh, Christen.’ There were many games after when she heard the same thing and saw the hands going and she never understood it. The majority of the things she was scolding herself about weren’t bad at all._

_Tobin thought maybe it stemmed from the uncertainty she had about how solid her stop on the National Team was but she was shocked to hear that this was how Christen was in college, too._

_There had to have been a lot of pressure being on a team like Stanford, especially when you were essentially competing with the country’s top forward at the time in Kelley._

_Still Christen obviously proved herself on every single team she played on. As surprising as it was to see her push herself, it was also somewhat inspiring. It’s one of the reasons why Tobin insisted on the two of them training together. She wanted to get inside her head a little and also build chemistry on the field like what she had with Alex._

_From then on, every ‘Oh, Christen’ or hand gesture was noted in Tobin’s mind and saved until the end of the game. She made sure to go over to Christen and tell her everything she did well. She beamed with pride every time she did so and she vowed to go out of her way after every single game if she had to just so that she could get the same reaction back from Christen._

_iv._

_Similarly to Sydney with Boss, you just simply couldn’t have a relationship of any kind with Christen without having one with her dogs. Kelley recalled stories of how she’d sometimes go to stay with Christen when there were breaks at Stanford and she wasn’t able to go home. She said that Christen would sometimes be so focused in on being reunited with her dogs that she would forget that Kelley was even there._

_Christen even embarrassingly admitted to the team during a night out that she didn’t end up dating someone because they said that they weren’t a dog person._

_The team saw this relationship firsthand when the Press family opened up their household to the gals when they were in the LA area. Christen wasn’t the only one though who focused on the furry members of this family._

_Even the most oblivious person could see just how much joy Christen got from her dogs and how much she loved them. Everyone joked that since she was single she’d probably end up as the team dog lady instead of a typical cat lady and she’d always respond by saying that she’d be more than happy if that happened._

_Tobin loved animals of all kinds. She couldn’t really say that she had a favorite per say but maybe after that day, dogs kind of gained a few more points than all the rest._

_v._

_Considering Tobin was a person who didn’t have a set place to stay most of the time, it was safe to say that planning wasn’t exactly her forte. Sure, she planned when it came to training and how to approach a game but that was the extent. With almost everything else in her life, Tobin approached with a sense of spontaneity and adventure._

_She was fortunate to have people in her life that would remind her of things. Alex, Lauren and Amy were almost always her go to’s when it came to remembering dates for events and even simple things like her family members’ birthdays._

_Slowly but surely, she added Christen onto that list as well. It was a bit surprising but she always credited it to the times they were roommates. That’s also the first time she became aware of Christen’s day planners._

_Structure wasn’t for her but she understood that it worked for most other people which is why she didn’t think twice about Christen needing a day planner. That and the girl had endorsements now and clearly had a busier schedule than previously so it had to be something that Christen used to keep track of events and appointments and such._

_One night after an off day spent together, the two ended up in Christen’s bed where they talked for a good bit. That’s when Tobin asked her about the planner. What she didn’t expect was that Christen would pull it out to show her._

_She then began to ramble on and on about how it was ridiculous to have something like that when she had people who could remind her of things. The rambling didn’t stop there as she told Tobin that it was probably sign of just how much of a control freak she was and that’s where Tobin stopped her._

_She didn’t think that’s what it meant at all. Even the smallest things like planning when to take a shower or go for a run or meditate was something note worthy, especially when someone is used to always be doing something. Tobin told her that she thought it was pretty cool actually and that even though things like that weren’t for her that she admired it even down to the smallest things that Christen was able to check off on a day._

_vi._

_With the handful of NT players playing oversees, the natural question was whether any of them had picked up the language of where they had played._

_Ali was the most obvious one who had. She always loved answering that question in German and then adding in a few more just to drive the point home a little more._

_Tobin and Megan were part of the select few who only picked up a little bit when in France. This allowed for a pretty hilarious video of them, more so Megan, attempting to show off their language skills and explain how they were able to communicate during their times with their respective teams._

_It was a known fact that during one season Christen had been attempting to pick up some Swedish. When the second season rolled around, the team asked during one of their meet ups how she had progressed with the language._

_A laugh was her immediate response and she followed with explaining how she ended up being fortunate enough to continue for Spanish and improve more with that rather than with Swedish. It didn’t come as a surprise given the diversity on most of those teams overseas._

_It was just one more thing about Christen that ended up fascinating Tobin. She found herself lingering whenever Christen was asked to do an interview in Spanish or whenever one of the younger players who were still in school would ask for help on homework or with studying._

_vii._

_There had been so much buzz around this particular year’s critically acclaimed movie. The gals had been dying to see it but none were able to when it was out in theaters._

_By the time they did get to see it, the movie had won countless Academy Awards and other top prizes in the industry. It was Kelley, Alex, Tobin, Christen, Lauren, Amy, Whitney, Ashlyn, Ali and Sydney would all crammed in Alex and Sydney’s room one night and watched it on demand at their hotel._

_There were plenty of tears and surprises throughout the entire film and everyone could see why there was such buzz around it. Once it was over, everyone started to throw out their opinions and gush about the acting and the plot._

_Tobin noticed that Christen was the only one besides herself that wasn’t really adding in any opinions. When she asked her about it, Christen just simply said she didn’t like it and that caught the attention of everyone in the room._

_When the eyes were on her for long enough, she finally decided to elaborate a little bit and after going in about how the plot had significant holes in it and the main character didn’t really do anything realistically possible, that’s when Kelley threw a pillow at her. She noted how Christen never could just sit and watch a movie and ignore all the obvious errors in most of them._

_Tobin finally added in her opinion at that time and she mentioned how Christen did have a slight point. This caused others to add some things in and suddenly, the topic of conversation shifted to what could have been done to make the movie that much better or what changes they would have made if they were involved in it. From then on, Tobin looked at movies differently. She still enjoyed them for the most part but she also brought in that factor that critic reviews and popular opinion didn’t necessarily mean the movie itself would always live up to the hype._

_viii._

_Alex had a children's book deal. Hope released a memoir. There was no doubt that members of the team like Abby and Christie would following suit one day if they were ever given the chance to._

_Christen in her typical fashion had a blog that she thought was kept pretty under wraps from her teammates. However, as her stardom grew, more outlets were referring back to the inspiring nature of that blog and how it truly highlighted the passion Christen had._

_Tobin often found herself on that blog. It was actually one of the few places she went to when she was exploring the internet for longer than usual. It was refreshing to see something like this from one of her teammates. She didn’t mean to take anything away from Alex or Hope by thinking that but she just thought it was pretty cool that Christen did this without being asked to by some publishing company or website._

_It was such a Christen thing to do really._

_Tobin played it cool though and she never let Christen know that she checked often, especially when the two weren’t training or playing together. She didn’t let her know that she often told rookies on the Thorns to refer to those words whenever they were feeling overwhelmed or lost after becoming a pro or just in general._


	2. To lovers

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1\. Practices vedic meditation  
> 2\. Climbed mt. kinabalu in borneo  
> 3\. Known for her on-field self-talk  
> 4\. Her dog is the best  
> 5\. Can’t live without her day planner  
> 6\. Speaks more spanish than swedish in sweden  
> 7\. Hard to please when it comes to movies  
> 8\. Loves to write

i.

There were three instances where Christen genuinely tried to get Tobin to try meditating with her. Out of those three, she only took her up on the offer once and it lasted all of 2 minutes. 

The first time was a day before a match with Costa Rica which meant a reunion with Tobin’s ex. Tobin never vocalized what she was feeling leading up to the game but Christen could just tell how tense she was even when they kissed. They had spoken a lot about Tobin’s last relationship and Christen wasn’t jealous or anything about what Tobin was feeling. She was anticipating a rough game and an emotional night, especially since Lindsey and so many other teammates still had a great relationship with Shirley. Christen was just simply concerned so she suggested it because she thought maybe it would be something new and distracting. Most importantly, it was something they could do together. Tobin has other plans to relieve her tension and chose to spend the day doing some extra drills with Dawn and a few others on the team. 

The second time was after rumors started that Tobin might be traded from Portland. The suggestion was made as a joke really but Tobin had taken it seriously which lead to them getting into a little fight. She told Christen that she had more important things to be worrying about than breathing exercises. Christen gave her space after that and Tobin happily took it. She ended up at the beach while Christen stayed back at her house and tried her best to contact Lindsey, Meghan and anyone else from the Thorns that she could to get some insight on things. A few hours passed and it came out that the trade was nothing but a misunderstanding. The coach of a new team about to be formed stated that she was number one of his wish list and the Internet twisted those words completely. Tobin came back and apologized to Christen for everything and instead of meditating, they ended up spending the night wrapped in each other’s arms. 

Finally, the last time was when Tobin was noticeably stressed and this level of stress was completely uncharacteristic of her. Training for the World Cup had begun again and the pressure was on the team to follow up their 2015 performance. That pressure was there during the 2016 Olympics, too, and Tobin lived for pressure so Christen wasn’t sure what was going on with her. When they were finally alone after a training session, Christen once again jokingly suggested that Tobin meditate. This time though Tobin accepted much to Christen’s surprise. She found out very quickly though that Tobin couldn’t keep a straight face long enough to actually get anything done. She found out after the World Cup that the reason behind Tobin’s stress was because Alex, Kelley, Ashlyn and a few others were on her back about the ring she had bought to propose. 

ii. 

The more time that went by, the more crosses Tobin was able to put through her list of places she had visited. The more recent ones were all with Christen of course and they included many places that they never would be able to see from playing soccer. 

There was a big gap of time in between NWSL seasons so that left the two with a long list of possible things to do. 

Tobin was the one to suggest Mt. Kinabalu. It took Christen by surprise because it seemed to be out of nowhere. It was something she herself overlooked because she had already been there before and she never once thought that it would be something Tobin would be interested in. 

The explanation behind it was that it obviously was a place Tobin had never been to before and she told Christen that she distinctly remembered how passionate Christen was about the experience so she wanted to see for herself. 

They decided to go for a couple a days and Christen added on an additional one for rest and relaxation. Tobin swore up and down that she wouldn’t be sore afterwards like Christen was so she didn’t need the extra day to rest. When the time finally came, she was extremely grateful that her girlfriend knew the trail and her better that she just added it without telling her. 

When they were at the highest peak of the mountain, Tobin made sure that they took a few obnoxious couple photos because she didn’t want to be reminded of the guy that Christen last hiked with here. She didn’t want Christen to only have pictures here with the ‘friend’ that Kelley relentlessly teased her about. 

She wanted this place to become one of their many places. 

iii. 

How hard Christen was on herself was something that didn’t change. Tobin wasn’t expecting it to either. Christen always had the desire to push herself and be the best she could be. 

There were plenty of times when the self-talk came out during extremely frustrating games for the team as a whole. Christen had a lot of pressure on her to be subbed in and score the goal to put them ahead or give them momentum. When that result wasn’t immediate or didn’t happen, she felt like she was responsible for the end result of the game. 

In the moment, whenever Tobin heard her get like that, she’d always make it a point to yell out to her about something positive that she had done even if it was as simple as saying that she had the right idea with what she wanted to do. After the game, when Christen would stay quiet and be lost in her own thoughts, Tobin would talk to her about how her training has been paying off because her footwork with the ball was amazing or that she seemed to be getting a better perspective on the game as opposed to before when she only saw things as a superstar forward. 

It worked better during some games rather than others of course. Tobin was always there for her though. She always told her that she shouldn’t bare the brunt of the pressure and that it’s a team effort. Christen would say that she understood but Tobin would know that deep down her girlfriend felt guilty for not doing more herself to ensure a win. 

It was just the way Christen was. She always wanted more and she always wanted to do as much as she could for the team and Tobin understood that. It was something that frustrated her so much about Christen but also something that she loved so much about her as well. 

iv. 

If you’re going to have any kind of relationship with Christen, that means you’re going to have a relationship with her dogs as well. Tobin learned that way back when they were starting off as friends. 

This is why she wasn’t surprised when the dogs were allowed to take up most of the room on their bed at night. She wasn’t surprised when Christen’s focus poorly managed to focus on Tobin sometimes when the dogs were doing something incredibly cute nearby. 

Tobin never got to Christen’s level when it came to being obsessed with the animals but they did grow on her an incredible amount with each passing day. She’d find herself getting up just to take them out for a walk and not always during times when it was completely necessary. She’d dribble the soccer ball near them and instead of getting annoyed at them trying to chase the ball, she eventually used it as practice and found herself genuinely enjoying playing with them. 

These dogs were a huge part of Christen’s life and they automatically then became a huge part of Tobin’s. 

It also kind of gave Tobin a great insight on how Christen might be with kids and it made her heart swell every time she thought about that idea. 

v. 

The planner always served as a huge reminder to everyone just how different Tobin and Christen were. It never really served as a problem in their relationship though except for a few times when they were in bed and Christen panicked because she forgot to do something. It was something pretty small and that could be easily done so Tobin didn’t understand why they had to skip out on sex completely to get it done that moment. 

Still it was never a problem. Tobin would ask sometimes in the morning what Christen had planned and then follow up that night with what she was able to get done. That’s a routine they slipped into pretty easily whenever there was distance between them. 

However, long into their relationship, it suddenly dawned on Tobin that Christen no longer wrote in it first thing in the morning and it was never a conversation between them anymore. 

When she asked Christen about it, the response was simple and genuine. She just stated that she decided awhile back that she didn’t need to keep a day planner anymore because being with Tobin at the end of each day already told her that she achieved something great and everything else in between was just an added bonus. 

vi. 

The few times Tobin went to Sweden with Christen she was able to witness her speaking the language with a sense of ease. She had improved an extreme amount compared to when she first started playing there.

However, when she was reunited with some of her teammates from Sweden, the native language was thrown out the door and the Spanish came out almost immediately. 

Tobin remembered hearing nonstop French when she was over at PSG. People even like Shirley had learned the language and rarely used her native one when she was there. It was just surprising to not only hear the Spanish come out but how naturally it did. 

It was nice to see honestly. It showed Tobin a different side of Christen and how much of an impact her time in Sweden had on her. That and it didn't hurt that hearing Christen speak any language at all was one of the hottest things Tobin has ever heard. 

vii. 

Harry Potter was the first strike. 

Tobin had talked up that series so much that Christen actually decided to give the movies a second chance. Tobin offered a new perspective and she was really confident that Christen would love them if she just gave them a solid chance. 

The movie was set up and Tobin set clear rules on how they would watch and how many they would watch on their day off. However, by the third movie, Christen couldn't fake it anymore. She really did try for Tobin's sake but it quickly became a movie that Christen would rather be half-hearing in the background when she and Tobin were making out like teenagers. 

When Christen finally admitted how she couldn't get behind the series to the extent that Tobin did, Tobin was shocked but accepted it. It hurt her so much to do so but she loved Christen. 

Titanic was the second strike though. 

And finally, when a year came with multiple must see movies, Tobin didn't even bother because the rolling of the eyes Christen did when she heard the countless amazing reviews for them was enough for a third strike. She vowed from there on out to never watch a movie with Christen again. 

That only lasted though until Finding Dory came out and Christen never let her live that down. 

viii. 

Christen's blog still continued throughout their relationship. Sometimes it documented trips they went on or shared feelings they had about retirements, pregnancies, games, etc. It was something that Tobin loved that Christen kept up with. 

However, Tobin loved the writing that people on the outside didn't get to see more. There were the good morning notes that Christen left on the pillow. Or the emails she would send whenever they were struggling with the long distance thing. 

It could have just been something as simple as 'I love you' and a smiley face and Tobin would have treasured it more than any other book she had read before.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> how about that preath action last night? what a time to be alive.

**Author's Note:**

> The second chapter will be about how these 8 things change once Tobin and Christen's relationship does as well.


End file.
